Can you pray to or ask Eshu to open roads for you without being initiated?
This is a tricky one! The shortest simplest answer is yes you can. Anyone absolutely has the ability to say basic prays to Orishas because Orishas are present everywhere in nature and throughout the world, even within our own bodies to some extent (Oshun to blood, Obatala to the head, etc.) It can work to say those prayers in any language, because even if you do not know the traditional prayers in Yoruba or Lucumi, the Orisha know your true intentions and what’s in your heart when you speak to them.
That’s the simple answer... the important thing to understand about that is it’s risky to start interacting and communicating with Orisha if 1) you don’t have any way to understand what they may be saying back to you (you MUST use traditional divination - Obi, Ifa, diloggun - not other methods like tarot, etc), 2) you don’t have any means to learn how to engage with them in the ways that they want and avoid offending them (tradition and protocol), 3) you haven’t formally learned about the Orisha to better understand and form a relationship with them (traditional knowledge and wisdom). If you start trying to work with Orisha without those three things, you can wind up angering and upsetting the Orishas without intending to and without even being aware of it - and ultimately that could be very damaging to your spiritual growth and what could’ve been in your relationship with them. Sometimes folks have this idea that it’s their birth right to work with the Orishas... there is no concept that this is the case for everyone within any Orisha tradition. It is important to remember that when priests and practitioners share these warnings, even if it feels discouraging or frustrating, the best reason to take it seriously is for your own spiritual protection.
Now that all being said, you do not have to be initiated in an Orisha tradition to have those three things I mentioned above. If you are working with a priest in any Orisha tradition - meaning a babalawo, iyanifa, or olorisha (Santero/Santera) - then they can do traditional divination for you, help you make ebo (offerings / sacrifice), and teach you the traditional ways and protocols and about the Orishas and how to approach them as you are ready along your journey. So with the guidance of any legitimate and qualified priest, you will learn based on your personal path which Orishas to work with and how to do this safely and respectfully. Even initiated priests who have trained for decades still continue to learn from other priests and especially their godparents for the rest of their lives.
TL;DR: To sum it all up, the short answer is no you do not have to be initiated to pray to Eshu or any other Orisha. The long answer is - for your own spiritual protection and well being, it’s definitely better to wait until you have the guidance of a priest in an Orisha tradition to help you navigate your relationships with the Orishas even if you become initiated at some point.
